She knew every word, stayed until the lights came on, and genuinely believed sleep was optional. She is now standing in her kitchen at 8pm, folding laundry, wondering how she got here and whether she's allowed to miss the other version of herself. Charli XCX, as it turns out, has been thinking about her too. And today, we're looking at what happens when a pop star decides to grow up with her audience instead of pretending they never did.

TechCrunch reports that the backlash was immediate and severe. CAA, whose clients include Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, raised concerns directly with Meta. The group called for "real control, not handing it over to platforms." The feature was pulled within four days. Meta said it "missed the mark." It is the second time in one week that Meta has launched and immediately pulled an Instagram AI feature. At some point, perhaps test it first?

Meanwhile, Apple and OpenAI were partners two years ago. Now they're in federal court. TechCrunch reports that Apple has filed a lawsuit against OpenAI alleging a coordinated campaign of trade secret theft, led by OpenAI's Chief Hardware Officer Tang Tan — a 24-year Apple veteran. Tan allegedly instructed Apple employees interviewing at OpenAI to bring in physical hardware components for "show and tell" sessions. He also allegedly coached them on how to evade Apple's exit security checks.

Apple's filing puts it plainly: "OpenAI's nascent hardware business now rests on the shakiest of foundations, rotten to its core." OpenAI's response was equally succinct: "We have no interest in other companies' trade secrets." The lawyers will sort it out.

And finally, a seismic shift is brewing in the relationship between the internet and Google. Adweek reports that Cloudflare — which hosts roughly one fifth of all websites globally — will block Google's crawler by default for new sign-ups and free tier customers from September 15, on any page carrying ads. Publishers are calling it the "nuclear option." But it's gaining serious traction as web traffic collapses under Google's AI Overviews and the company refuses to negotiate over how it uses their content. For decades, publishers did everything possible to rank higher in Google. Now they're preparing to disappear from it entirely.

It’s not as destructive, however my boyfriend would probably disagree, considering the amount of times it drives him wildly mad.

Because the symptoms of this addiction (there are only two) are listening to Charli XCX’s new song Wink Wink and signing it suuuuuper loud all around the apartment at most times of the day.

I am a nightmare. I’m aware.

Anyway, it inspired me to write about it. Not only because Charli has been on a generational marketing run since the release of her sixth studio album, Brat, in 2024. The album which saw the star completely rebrand the chartreuse hue #8ACE00 and gave us a signed and sealed permission slip to smoke cigarettes all summer, drink Aperol Spritzes and be the last ones left at the function.

It worked because it delivered a raw, un-massaged structural honesty. It captured the exhausting rhythm of modern youth identity, forever oscillating between aggressive rebellion and crippling vulnerability.

Now, we have arrived at Wink Wink, the third single from her forthcoming album, Music, Fashion, Film. And for me, the sonic frequency has shifted into a completely new territory of resonance.

What makes Charli stand out as a modern artist is her ability to know exactly what her demographic needs to hear, at the exact time they need to hear it. And then marketing it with absolute precision. And this time around, she isn’t speaking to the active club-goer.

Charli is now making music for the women who used to run the night, but who are now negotiating stable relationships. Paying mortgages. Folding laundry. And trying to build a respectable life. And also, failing to do al of these things in a way that feels genuine or successful.

It’s an acknowledgment of the ageing process. When she sings “I’m not a bad girl anymore,” it carries a massive, knowing, self-referential smirk. It’s an internal code text for: I’m playing the adult game now, I’m being good, but if you know you know, wink wink.

It stands in stark contrast to the image Brat presented, while also satirising tropes popular in culture right now. It almost stands as an ironic and rebellious sketch of puritanism. A satire of the rise of the tradwife, which she comically portrays in the music video.

I’ve seen a lot of pop stars and consumer brands make the fatal mistake of trying to freeze their target audience in a perpetual state of youth. They keep selling the same shallow, club-heavy party aesthetics long after their core community has moved on to domestic life. And it results in a product that feels increasingly hollow and out-of-touch.

Charli is choosing to let us in to her newfound world. Because she knows in one way or another, we are sharing a similar experience.

Understanding that you don’t have to completely erase your past or pretend to be an entirely different, sanitised human being, just because you’ve entered a more peaceful chapter of your life. You can hold onto the radical honesty. The sharp edges. And the emotional complexity of your younger self, while still choosing a quieter, more grounded reality.

And maybe I just sound like a fan, but in my eyes, the strategic takeaway is profound.

If your marketing strategy isn’t evolving to match the real-time lifecycle changes, ageing dynamics, and psychological maturity of your audience, you aren't building brand equity. You may just be managing a diminishing asset.

The businesses that command lifetime loyalty are the ones that learn how to transition their messaging from immediate, high-octane hype to long-term emotional companionship.

So, to my fellow retired party girls currently pacing your living rooms, trying to balance the demands of adulthood, your marketing job, and grappling with existentialism while screaming pop lyrics at the ceiling: let that sh*t play.

You don't have to apologise for the volume. And you don't have to suppress the history (not that we could if we tried).

The party has not ended, girls. The venue has just moved indoors, and the stakes have finally become real.

-Sophie Randell, Writer

The sound comes from JT, one half of hip hop duo City Girls, who got on a livestream and addressed her haters with the kind of calm, damning clarity that only comes from someone who has genuinely had enough:

"Y'all the opps, I keep telling y'all. Y'all are the opps."

Creators are lipsyncing to the audio to call out anyone who has let them down, betrayed their trust, or simply proven themselves to be on the wrong side of the equation.

Some of my favourite examples:

Film yourself lipsyncing to the sound and add whoever has revealed themselves to be the opp as your on-screen text.

A few ideas to get you started:

-Devin Pike, Copywriter

Hey Priya!

This is such a common thing that holds so many people back from posting content.   It’s helpful to remember that no one is thinking about you the way you’re thinking about you. Everyone is paying more attention to themselves. Or as we talk about in our team, there's not a stadium of people waiting for you to put content out.

Once you realise no one cares that much, it's liberating. You can be ok posting content that's good enough. Because you can't improve on something that doesn't exist yet. I hate to say it, but you just have to get over yourself and do it scared. It will get easier once you just start.

- Charlotte Ellis, Editor ♡

We get it. Creating content that does numbers is harder than it looks. But doing those big numbers is the fastest way to grow your brand. So if you’re tired of throwing sh*t at the wall and seeing what sticks, you’re in luck. Because making our clients go viral is kinda what we do every single day.